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We will not allow our territory to be used against India: Nepal

September 14, 2009 18:30 IST

Nepal has said it would not allow its territory to be used against the interests of India and not permit "vested interest groups" to create "misunderstandings" between the two neighbouring nations.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala assured this to the new Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Monday who is on her maiden official visit to Nepal.

The Nepalese minister also said, "We should be cautious that vested interest groups do not play or take undue advantage by creating misunderstandings."

During the meeting, the two also agreed to speed up agreements reached during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's recent visit to New Delhi, including signing a bilateral extradition treaty and finalising a strip map of Nepal.

"We have agreed to speed up implementation of various agreements reached during my visit and the prime minister's visit to India," Koirala told reporters. "Though we don't have any major problems, we agreed to sort out issues like border delineation and reported border encroachment at certain points through understanding and goodwill," she said.

Koirala said Nepal would make special efforts to keep up its warm relations with India. "We agreed to have constant communication between the two countries and to make our dealings transparent so that any misunderstanding or any gap does not arise," she said. Elaborating she said, Nepal gave priority to its relations with neighbouring countries, especially India, "as we have close cultural, religious and historical ties and with whom we have 75 percent of our trade and transactions".

India has also expressed support for Nepal's peace and stability and in completing the task of formulating a constitution on time, Koirala said.

Nepal's economic development, establishment of peace and stability are also in the interest of India, she said.

Rao also held bilateral discussions with her Nepalese counterpart Gyanchandra Acharya where issues relating to extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance, and finalising of strip map of Nepal figured.

Nepalese Foreign Ministry spokesman Madhan Kumar Bhattarai said the home ministers of both the countries had to sign the extradition treaty to make it operational.

He added that the Indian and Nepalese home secretaries would meet in Kathmandu in November to discuss issues relating to security, checking criminal activities in the border and the extradition treaty.